Please Ignore Vera Dietz

Description

Vera's spent her whole life secretly in love with her best friend, Charlie Kahn. And over the years she's kept a lot of his secrets. Even after he betrayed her. Even after he ruined everything. So when Charlie dies in dark circumstances, Vera knows a lot more than anyone-the kids at school, his family, even the police. But will she emerge to clear his name? Does she even want to? Edgy and gripping, Please Ignore Vera Dietz is an unforgettable novel: smart, funny, dramatic and always surprising.

A.S. King is the author of many acclaimed novels and has won the Michael L. Printz Award in 2020 for Dig, a Michael L. Printz Honor in 2011 for Please Ignore Vera Dietz, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 2012 for Ask the Passengers, The Amelia Walden Award, The Carolyn Field Award, and one time she won GBP50 on a scratch card. The New York Times called her 'one of the best YA writers working today'. King lives in Pennsylvania.

'A harrowing but ultimately redemptive tale of adolescent angst gone awry. The author depicts the journey to overcome a legacy of poverty, violence, addiction and ignorance as an arduous one, but Vera's path glimmers with grace and hope.' * Kirkus Reviews * 'Watching characters turn into the people they've long fought to avoid becoming is painful, but seeing them rise above it, reflect, and move on makes this title a worthy addition to any YA collection.' * Booklist * 'One of the best YA writers working today.' -- John Green 'A slow burn of a novel concerned with the difficulty of coming to terms with life as it is...A riveting and rewarding read.' * SA Weekend, on Still Life With Tornado * 'A. S. King shows a deep understanding of teen anxieties and writes with streetwise humour, tenderness and originality...Hers is a magical style that dances off the page.' * Otago Daily Times, on Still Life With Tornado * 'Amid the dark ubiquity of fractured relationships, crumbling families, adolescent angst and rebellion that characterises YA fiction, it is an unusual novel that rises above that common ground, that explores that generic territory in a fresh and compelling way. A. S. King is one writer who does just that.' * Magpies, on Still Life With Tornado * 'This is a strong and engaging book about growing up and coming-of-age...The ending is hopeful and uplifting but in no way unrealistic.' * Reading Time * 'Bullying, grief, abandonment and dysfunctional families are ever with us and King uses the language and insights of young people to put these before us in a very accessible way.' * Otago Daily Times * 'A moving and thought-provoking read.' * BookMooch *